Quotes from Press Conference

Lindsay Gattlieb, the new UCSB women's basketball head coach, spoke with members of the media today in a press conference held at the UCSB Athletics Building.

Opening Statement
"Words can't express how excited I am, how honored I am and how humbled I am to take the reigns of leadership for this remarkable program."

"One of the things that was exciting to me about this job was the community, the location and the administration. This is a gem of a women's basketball program and I'm impressed with how supportive this community is."

"I was able to build two programs with Joanne Boyle (Cal women's head coach) and I think I have had experiences that many assistants don't get in their entire career. I am truly indebted to her."

"Cal will hold a dear place in my heart, but UCSB is the right fit for me and I'm so excited to be apart of Gaucho basketball."

"Mark French is a quality individual and a terrific basketball coach. I have some big shoes to fill. When I talk to people about Mark French, they didn't mention the hundreds and hundreds of wins, they mentioned what an unbelievable human being he is and his significant contribution to this program. It became clear to me that I want to be at a place that value these things."

"Coach French has already given me some great advice. I know he is someone that will continue to be a resource for me and that I hope he comes around. I'd like to thank him in his support of me and what he has done to put UCSB on the map."

"I'd had a chance to meet with the women's basketball team yesterday and I told them that when you look at a job, you have to look at the different pieces. This was the right academic fit for me; along with the location, the facilities and the administration, but the other piece to me that makes up the fabric of this place are the people and these young women. Their reputation precedes them well."

"I look forward to helping them achieve their goals on the court as well as helping them develop as young women once they leave UCSB."

"I think this program is something special and can continue to be something special. I intend to show the country that we are going to do some unbelievable things on the court."

"I'm definitely known as a sports nerd and a trivia nerd. I want to be coaching basketball because this is my passion and I want to be involved in it."

What do you see as the big differences from coaching a Pac-10 team and a Big West team?
"I'm going to hold these guys to a pretty high standard and it doesn't matter that Cal is Pac-10 and UCSB is Big West, I think its basketball. If you carry yourself like a champion 24/7, which is what I'm going to ask of them, it's not about what conference you are in."

"I think my Cal and Richmond experiences were incredibly valuable and I think those experiences have led me to coaching at UCSB."

"I'm excited to hit the recruiting grounds running and put a team on the floor that can compete with anyone."

What is your coaching philosophy and what schemes do you see this team running?
"I think this team has an unbelievable mix of senior leadership and youthful energy. It's going to be my job to get a good chemistry among them and put a team on the floor that everyone's proud of."

"I have to watch more film and find an offense that will put these women in a position to succeed. I think there's a lot of great inside-out potential. I think our post players can complement our veteran guards pretty well. First, I want to sit down and talk to the players about what their goals are and then we can talk about how we get there."

"I think this team has a lot of talent returning. We have 15 great players who are talented and ready to go. I think we can do some great things in the Big West and I think we can also do some great things that can receive national attention."

Gattlieb speaking about a coaching staff
"I'm a big believer that you need to surround yourself with a unit that's going to have great chemistry. I think I need to have a coaching staff that can compliment my strengths and weaknesses."